Howard Schultz apparently hasn't put the brakes on warm sandwiches

So much for your fantasy of the warming ovens being dragged out of Starbucks stores. It was just announced that Detroit and Toledo, Ohio stores will begin serving warm breakfast sandwiches on Feb. 8. (Detroit Free Press)

Comments

[Eric]

Oh, the horror!

[Emma]

::kicks self::

[EZ E`]

No Complaints here... The sandwhiches are tasty and they will make our AM offerings a little bit more dynamic.. Personally, I see our budget growing next month.. So, let's hope for the best..

[jim h]

From what I've read, the new plan is going to the familiar "wad more new products into the stores and push them harder."

Looks like another futile effort to grow the business without focusing on the core product or their area of expertise.

Is this Starbucks Coffee or Starbucks Sandwich Shoppes? Maybe they should buy out Panera who have great homemade breads and sandwiches and definitely much better customer service than the Buckeroos with filthy bathrooms and slow speed of service.

[FLASM]

The ovens are great! The breakfast sandwiches add incremental revenue, and drive avg ticket. Plus, everything in our pastry case is better warmed. Our food UPH is more than 10+ what it was last year because of warming. So it's really only 5 new SKUs, but lots of new options for formerly blah pastries.

[Adrienne]

I used to hate warming, but the more I grow with this company I am starting to see the benefits. More people come in, because now not only can they get a trendy coffee, they don't have to sacrifice breakfast to look cool. And some people come in just to get a warmed pastry. If it isn't working in your store, try adjusting your deployment, or asking your dm how to up your labor. It also helps, though it's cheating a little, to press the warming button for EVERY pastry, even when you don't warm them. We ear 1 hour of labor for every ten times we push it per hour during peak. And believe me, that adds up. And have you ever had a warm chocolate chip cookie? Or RF cinnamon coffee cake? YUM!!

Adrienne, just to warn you...The P&AP dept will be looking for that trend in stores and it will be treated as time theft. Please learn a different way to increase labour without "cheating" you could get into trouble!

"Panera who have great homemade breads"

When was the last time you went to Panera's house for bread?

[misscelestia]

Of course they are going forward with warming - they have already sank a TON of money into it. Howard cannot change the fact that dumping the entire warming program would be throwing a ton of money out the window, and further killing our stock.

[Adrienne]

Thanks for letting me know. I'll pass it on to my DM as she is the one who game me the idea...

So, has anyone in a new warming environment thought of asking your DM or RM for a 50 cent per hour raise (minimum) because of the increased profit AND increased job responsibilities that entails? Anyone ever consider a strike?

[ex-sbuxmanager]

I don't think P&AP will be on the lookout for phony warming hits. They really only care about stealing money. If one were able to scam money by pushing the warming button, they might be concerned, but since it rings up "NC" (no charge), no one's going to care.

[jim h]

I'm just a customer with a long-time interest in Starbucks.

The now-famous memo talked about the loss of the ground coffee aroma in the stores. That, to me, just nailed it. I don't want to smell Egg McMuffins when I walk in a coffee shop in the morning. That's why I went to a coffe shop and not a McDonald's. I don't want a somehow-trendier McDonald's in a different color scheme. Or at noon, somehow-trendier Panera.

The American corporate business plan, in a nutshell, is this: take something that's working and keep making it bigger until it doesn't work anymore.

[Javaccino]

My dream would be to get rid of the pre-packaged sandwiches and wraps, which don't really taste like eggs to me anyway. Keep the ovens. Well, something similar, the one in my store is always going down, and heats the cranberry scones until they boil (I stop it after ten seconds). I hate it. Get the smell of warm pastries into the store to complement the smell of coffee. Give us healthier breakfast pastries to warm up (spinach knishes anyone?).

[chitown's best/angriest barista]

perhaps a better sort of oven? like ones that don't occupy our entire counter-top maybe? and ones that don't require such a toxic cleaner and an involved (pain in the ass) process? we used to have safety goggles (like from a science lab) we were supposed to wear when we cleaned, it's that bad. of course, we lost them soon after we got them, but the point is all those chemicals that close to food can't be doing it any service either. i think this is another case of something that was launched before it was fully developed and could still use some tweaking until it works.
fun fact: we were supposed/expected to sell 300 sandwiches a day when they first came out. we've never sold that many in a day, ever. not even when we bribed customers with raffle tickets or other incentives.

[Melody]

I need a little help with acronyms in this thread:

What is " P&AP " ?

Just as another ordinary customer here, I do sort of miss the nice smell of ground coffee and I think the warmed sandwhiches detract from the atmosphere of the store, yet add a lot to the food selection. I see them as here to stay.

[bearista]

The sandwiches are good... high class mcmuffins

P&AP = Partner and Asset Protection.

[jc]

say it ain't so, Joe

[sclaire]

I live in a region where there are no warming ovens. Our store has been trying for months just to get a microwave because so many customers request their pastries heated.

I do NOT want breakfast sandwiches in the store where I work unless they're at least somewhat HEALTHY. The pastries we have are already fattening enough, I would love to have that option of the spinach knishes!

[Bladerunner]

And the Organic milk is going too...:( I just wish the breakfast sandwiches were healthier. Have you seen how long the ingredient list is? More fruit, and whole grains. I love the Vegan muffin. And for the record I'm not a vegetarian. I just believe in fresher products. The Lunch menu is rocking!

[SoCalSnowBunny]

Here's my thought- let's keep the ovens, but PLEASE let's figure out our food category. We can debate the sandwiches all day long, but the fact is that they SELL compared to our other products. It's the smell that makes us question it. Can you imagine if we had 15-20 amazing food offerings that were available nationwide, whose aromas filled the air with (if anything) complimentary smells to our grounds, such as cinnamon or spices or toffee, etc?

Don't get me wrong, I think about half of the food items are strong. But, I think there is a HUGE market for the "dessert" meal (yes, it's the fourth meal of the day, as Americans know it) and as a typical young 30 something, I'd love to treat my husband to dessert and coffee, and as a consumer I'd be prepared to lay down $15-20 total bill if the environment was there, and the TREAT was there.

In fact, it might even deter us from going to dinner out so much (when it now costs $50 it seems to get a meal for two) and enjoy a coffee date instead! If we could somehow remodel a dessert menu similar to those at restaurants into more of a quick serve format, we could pull HUGE revenues, and our partners would probably be excited about it. I know I would be MUCH more proud to serve a decadent new york style cheesecake paired with a cafe mocha rather than with, well, you know.

We want to go back to looking forward to hanging out at Starbucks. We need a respite in this crazy world. I say this as a partner, and as a customer. I am looking forward to an amazing 2008!!

[turbo spaz]

so unfair they get to have the eggs florentine and they took it out of our stores in NY. i loved that sandwich!

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

What? No eggs florentine? What are they thinking?

[Jeffrey]

Can we use the warming ovens to make XH lattes?

[Laurie Ross Clements]

Starbucks should stay on it's orignal course.
Yes, with such a powerful brand Starbucks could enter any catagory of business they desire.
But at what cost?
When a company diversifies so much from what established them in the first place, they lose their very essence of what made them so great.

Recapture the Starbucks experience.

In this electronic age we need more then ever to sit face to face with someone, and partake in a warm cup of deliciously brewed coffee.

The coffee house experience is where we stop texting and actually get together. People bond, ideas are debated, and plans are made over a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

I don't go there for a sandwich. And yes! I want to smell coffee when I walk in.

Laurie

[Sheik]

I've said this before and I'll say it again: Starbucks ought to think about changing their name from "Starbucks Coffee" to just "Starbucks." Since it's clear that their 'food revolution' is in full swing.

Also, to the poster who commented about 300 sandwiches a day during launch. That's what my DM said in my district too. It's purely a DM setting his/her district up for failure. Ain't nuttin more to it...

[VegasDude]

SOCALSNOWBUNNY... They tried the whole dessert thing a few years back. There was a chocolate "blackout" cake and a caramel brownie, and a few other things that I don't even remember. They made a really big deal about presentation and creating the very same "restaurant desserts" you're talking about. We had to drizzle the pastry trays with mocha and caramel and make them look all pretty. I, like you, thought it was a great idea at the time.

THEY BOMBED.

They were insanely expensive items for us, and none of our customers bought them. Way back when before joining the company I was a night Starbucks person too. I just loved the atmosphere of the store when it was dark outside and the store was so well lit and inviting, and it was the perfect place to warm up and have a long conversation during the winter, or cool off on the patio during the summer.

But the reality is, our stores and our products are built more for the morning crowd and so the majority, if not the entirety of products and innovation are geared towards that.

Which brings me to my next point... I'm in Vegas and would absolutely KILL for warming. We just got lunch two years ago now and my store has been making a bundle off of it. I have experienced warming as a customer in other markets and have truly loved the products. As compared to some of our pastry offerings, and even some of the sandwiches and salads, I thought the warming sandwiches were all extremely good! So whats to hate? As has been pointed out over and over again, our stores are already lacking the smell of coffee, is the smell of the warming products that offensive? As I said, experiencing it as a customer it certainly didn't draw my notice. It still smelled like a Starbucks (at least the smell of today) to me. Every time one of my customers comes back from being out of town, they inevitably ask me about it, so there's certainly demand. So I guess I need an explanation as to what's so bad?

[Will]

"Adrienne, just to warn you...The P&AP dept will be looking for that trend in stores and it will be treated as time theft. Please learn a different way to increase labour without "cheating" you could get into trouble!"

That seems a little crazy. Seems like that problem would be MUCH too widespread to control. Our P&AP lady has enough trouble even getting into our store to review the camera tapes when neccessary between all the audits and such.

When I traveled to New York and had the breakfast sandwich, I thought it was outstanding (I had the spinach and egg), and couldn't wait for it to roll out in my market. Still can't. I don't see what the big deal is.

The biggest problem I can see was addressed the other day in a post, in reference to the mindless beauracrats who continuously call the store to check sales numbers and tell us what to write on chalk boards. Seems like way too much money is being sunk into those people.

I don't believe the warming button adds labor at all. If they don't have ice water adding labor why would warming. It is my understanding that warming button is for Drive-Thru stores to communicate the need to warm. And as such P&AP won't even know your doing it.

[Zipy]

Warming adds labor. Ice water used too, and it probably still does -- why bother having the button if it didnt?

Strike? We aren't union, we'd probably just get fired.

Oh it adds to labor. Trust me.

[itsnotamermaid]

i like the ovens ofr pastries. we sell more pastries now that we can heat them up. the breakfast sandwiches sell too, so even thought i personally don't like them, oh well. i don't work mornings often anyway. my biggest problem w/the ovens is that we shut them down an hour before we close so we do lose some possible pastry sales when we can't heat a cookie after 10pm. also now that the mozzarella tomato sandwich is back...so yummy heated! the stores definitely smell different, but our counter remodel changed the smell of our store, go figure. so did having the floor tiles replaced and properly regrouted, but that made sense.
i think warming is here to stay and it's not the worst idea sbux has had...

[VancouverSm]

When we lauched warming, our USD goal was 43. If you acheived 43 you earned about 1:30 Minutes of labour. I highly suggest you dont mis-use the warming button, it really doesnt make a difference when you get your P&L, labour is labour.

the water button doesnt add to labor but it helps acct for shrinkage on the P&L statements... my manager says i can use it if i want but he's not gonna try and get everyone to do so...

[marcos]

can anyone find definitively if Warming adds labor? if so, WHERE CAN THIS BE FOUND IN WRITING?

anything else is just hearsay.

[John]

the "WARMING" button adds to your labor, just like frappuccions do. The cup of water button is for inventory shrinkage like Vancouversm said, however, the problem with hitting your warming button for every pastry is that the warming button is sku trackable, and if your DM or RM finds out, you will be terminated, ask my old manager.. Warming is fantastic for stores and raises your sales and labor like you wouldn't believe. Warming was originaly created for stores in markets that their sales were not exceptable so they brought in warming and it was a huge success. Pray for it in your stores if you don't already have it. I live in Hawaii which has a different pastry market all together after recently being purchased by RNA and our sandwhiches are bommmmb!

[Beantownsbuxbitch]

They should copy a page from Dunkin Donuts, and offer bread choices for your sandwhiches. I think a peppered bacon on a butter croissant would be yummy. We have customers who get pissed off that they can't have one on a bagel without paying for the bagel too. We also should get other condiments, I have been asked about a hundred times this year for jelly. Maybe add a veggie cream cheese and peanut butter as well. People ask so we should give it to them. JUST SAY YES!!!!

Jeff, only if you want to get fired.

[thinkdifferent05]

I'm a partner in Ann Arbor, MI and we've known warming was coming for a while now. As far as the 'shake-up' is concerned, we haven't heard anything official from the company (neither has my manager), so it could still be stopped. My feeling is that this change hasn't gone through the organization yet; more changes are probably coming.

[Atl. aliens]

We don't have a warming oven and I don't want it. I chose to work at Starbucks because I got tired of waiting tables and it seems like were going to be serving food anyways and it seems like we will be having more and more kids drinks....What was that awful blueberry frap??

And my god do I have to say double chocolatey chip frap in public...I'm a grown woman.

[badgerista]

Detroit market SMs just got trained on the ovens and we can start warming pastries as soon as everybody's trained up on the oven. (Next week.) I'm mixed on the whole warming thing. I like the idea of being able to toast bagels and such (I've been hearing that request for 5 years now,) but I'd also like to focus on coffee more (again.) First we were coffee masters. Then we were coffee merchants. Now we're food merchants? *nostalgic sigh* Oh, to be a green bean again... :)

[Elizabeth]

I think the benefits of the warming sandwiches greatly outweigh the costs. Sure, the smell has somewhat changed, though frankly I can't tell the difference and no customers have complained about it.

Sure, Starbucks is getting away from its original niche, which was quality coffee. But is that so bad? One of the most successful restaurants in my hometown of Charlotte, NC, is Pike's Old Fashioned Soda Shoppe. Pike's is a sit-down restaurant where you can order a burger, fries, things like that. It evolved out of a genuine soda shoppe where they had fresh-squeezed limeade and stuff like that (all of which you can still get). This in turn had evolved out of a pharmacy whose proprietor got so good at concocting a more delicious version of Dimetapp that he actually just started making delicious drinks. Change is a basic fact of economic life: it's unpleasant at first, but it can have good results in the end.

[anna p]

for what it's worth, i'm probably one of the .2 people out there who enjoy the breakfast sandwiches. i get the turkey bacon sandwich, and i think it's a good alternative to getting a pastry or bagel when i don't have time to make my oatmeal at home.

[Kevin D.P.]

Man, just something else we can have for poorly trained Baristas to mess up.... *grumble grumble*
I've worked with Baristas who can barely manage the pastry case, let alone some kind of heating unit.

[Tim]

Anna, nobody's saying the breakfast sandwiches aren't darn tasty, it's the disappearance of coffee's prominence in our stores that is the issue. =)

Example #1: Removing the hallmark Whole Bean menu from our boards and replacing it with a breakfast sandwiches menu, as though little plastic inserts in our coffee stands is sufficient enough of a reminder that we *do* still sell coffee, believe it or not.

[Tim]

That being said, I would, in the end, rather sacrifice tasty breakfast sandwiches to put the focus back on what we're supposed to be about.

[nq]

of course he hasn't stopped warming from coming, they've obviously already ordered the ovens........

as for the poorly trained baristas, maybe your store should invest more labour into training and follow the training plans.

[Elese]

To ATL Aliens if you are in fact in the ATL I hate to break it to you but we're on the schedule to have ovens by the end of this year. All of the new ATL area stores are already built for them. They're coming, like it or not.

As for the bit about poorly trained baristas and investing more labor into training, that sounds like a great idea. I think the Starbucks training plan is very well done, the modules and the learning coach program are all excellent as well. The problem, however, (in my experience) is that SM's simply aren't given enough labor to follow the training program properly. The training program is well designed, the execution is severely lacking.

I don't think P&AP will be on the lookout for phony warming hits. They really only care about stealing money. If one were able to scam money by pushing the warming button, they might be concerned, but since it rings up "NC" (no charge), no one's going to care.

During Audits, P&AP WILL lok at the number of times partners have individualy hit the warming button, if any partner stands out the SM WILL be questioned, possibly leading to investigation.
It may not seem a serious matter, but it is time-theft which is the single largest loss the company encounters. Use Integrity in every decision.

[PhxBux]

My suggestion on the warming smell is to be sure and follow the cleaning directions ( don't use too much cleaner) and leave the oven door open over night so that the odor has a chance to disperse. ( I think it works). Warming is here to stay for sure.

As far as returning focus to coffee, that's something you can do, right now, in your store everyday. Partners create the excitement, so sample, talk about and taste coffee everyday. Teach each other and truly connect over coffee. It's up to individuals in the store to uphold our standards.

[MusicGal]

Hmmm, I hadn't thought too much about the issue of food/warming ovens until I read about it on here. I actually like the sandwiches (great for those long work days when I don't have a car to drive over to Subway); I do think that coffee should take a greater prominence in the franchise.
That said, I come home every work night smelling like coffee, not egg sandwiches. I don't think we've gone *too* much to the dark side, yet. :)

[Abigail]

Used to work for Starbucks, and though most customers knew what we offered, I got tired of those who complained about our "lack of anything substantial to eat."

I now work for one of the stepchildren of SBX (Borders/Seattle's Best Coffee Cafe), and we carry many of the same products (I do mean MANY). Among them we have two breakfast sandwiches which we heat in our oven, which is kept at 475 degrees. Is this the same thing as the warming stations at some Starbucks stores?

I ask because it's the only thing I eat at work, and though I still love SBX and go often, I absolutely never purchase the cold sandwiches or pastries because I only like stuff like that warmed. The only thing I've liked recently is the chocolate hazelnut coffee cake--but b/c we are in the South (Atlanta), we don't have heating stations (except in our "stepchild" cafes like B&N and the SBC Cafe inside Borders).

All that to say: our customers like it, it's nice to have an alternative to offer, it makes them stay longer & buy more later, & I like it more. So I'm eager to see these same stations in our actual Starbucks stores nearby--since obviously I don't go to work on my days off, and SBX still offers a unique experience compared to bookstore cafes.

[Jewels]

Can we make one thing clear?
Overusing the warming button can in no way be time theft. No one is getting anything without paying for it.
The only thing that using the warming button will do for you is add on to your earned labor hours. your store will still pay money for the staff for those "earned" labor hours. the money spent on those "earned" labor hours will still show up on your P&L- within target or not (which is the REAL concern). Bumping up the number of earned labor hours you get by using the warming button will only alter the numbers on the Weekly Labor Recap, not affect whether your labor has come in under plan, which, if the "earned" hours are inflated, and thus exceeding actual hours, will only serve to keep you out of hot water with your DM.

So, highly worth it. :c)

[Jewels]

Can we make one thing clear?
Overusing the warming button can in no way be time theft. No one is getting anything without paying for it.
The only thing that using the warming button will do for you is add on to your earned labor hours. your store will still pay money for the staff for those "earned" labor hours. the money spent on those "earned" labor hours will still show up on your P&L- within target or not (which is the REAL concern). Bumping up the number of earned labor hours you get by using the warming button will only alter the numbers on the Weekly Labor Recap, not affect whether your labor has come in under plan, which, if the "earned" hours are inflated, and thus exceeding actual hours, will only serve to keep you out of hot water with your DM.

So, highly worth it. :c)

[samuel]

I never go to s Starbucks because they're too predatory. Remember, what comes around, goes around. I don't go to McDonald's either, but I will go now for their "competitive" coffee. I've never seen a McDonald's open up right next to an existing burger fast food outlet and run them out of business (like Starbuck's). I hope the changing economy allows McDonald's a fair shot at competition against Starbuck's --- if McDonald's were smart they would open new outlets right next to Starbuck's. I don't hate Starbuck's; I just don't like their predatory practives.

[Javaccino]

"I've never seen a McDonald's open up right next to an existing burger fast food outlet and run them out of business (like Starbuck's)."

Allow me to refer you to a book called "Starbucked" by Taylor Clark. The author, regardless of the fact that he is no big fan of the Siren, had to refute this urban legend.
Starbucks does not consider itself to be in competition with the independents quite so much as it is in competition with other chains, and with the supermarket coffee industry.
Actually, It's pretty hard to get yourself run out of business by a Starbucks moving next door, You'd have to serve a product that is worse and more expensive (In that case, any other indie coffee shop moving across the street would take away your customers). The number of independent cafes has been blossoming ever since Starbucks went national and created the demand for a place to have a cup of decent coffee.

"if McDonald's were smart they would open new outlets right next to Starbuck's."

And, there goes the neighborhood. On the other hand, if you care to open a mom-and-pop, you might do well to consider opening near a Starbucks. If you see a Starbucks pop up somewhere, it means that is a good place for a cafe or two, our real estate department know what they are doing.

Oh, please, Cafe Mickie D.? If you are going to avoid Starbucks, at least seek out some deserving independent coffee joint run by people who do it for the love of coffee. At least you'd be helping keep them in business in the face of the big bad cooperate monoliths.

[samuel]

Javaccino: Thank you for your well reasoned response to my stated dislike of Starbucks' well known predatory business practices. As you suggest, I do patronage a deserving independent coffee joint and it was a tongue -in-cheek suggestion for McDonald's to open outlets next to Starbucks. That would be bad; then we'd have two (2) "There goes the neighborhood" outfits cluttering up the landscape.

A recent newspaper cartoon showed an existing kids neighborhood lemonade stand with a Starbucks lemonade stand being erected next to it. A lampoon of Starbucks predatory practices? I think so.

This web-site reminds me of a Starbucks crows nest that supports sending crows out to every little sparrow and robins nest to peck and peck at them and hinder their survival.

Repeat: I do like Starbucks, just not their business practices.

[Edster]

I, for one, am unhappy with the extremely off-putting odor in Starbucks' stores following the intro of the warm egg sandwiches. I like the sandwiches. However, in every store that has these heart-attack-in-waiting, cholesterol bombs on offer, the smell of burning food product emanating from the ovens is enough to drive me out of the store. Keep the sandwiches, but a re-make of the ovens, ventilation and man-oven interface is in order.

[EZ E]

Today at work we tried warming some chocolate chip cookies, and you know what? They were so good.. almost home-baked like, which we sold the whole tray quickly when customers caught wift of what we were doing. In addition, we also warmed bagels for a few customers... So, feel free to think beyond the "eggs" and think about what will help other items to sell faster...

[Case Larsen]

Perhaps, he hasn't put on the brakes, but it's certainly not moving at high speed.

In one store I overheard a customer asking why there was no hot sandwiches. The employee said that the store was too small. I understood him to mean physical counter size.

But I've seen a Starbucks store of the same size (maybe even smaller) with hot sandwiches. The two stores were opened about the same time (different cities in San Francisco bay area). One has sandwiches, one doesn't.

[Marcus]

My Starbucks is remodeling right now for hot sammiches. I go in almost every day to this store in Williamsburg, VA. I've been asking them if they know what type of sammiches they'll be, but they don't know. The employee I talked to tonight didn't seem very happy about them adding sammiches. I'm curious to know if any of them will be vegetarian. I personally don't think it's a good idea. Some of the pastries look pretty picked over. I think they should improve those: why not bake fresh croissants instead? I mean granted, I live in Virginia, but not all Virginians love the smell of bacon when we're drinking our lattes.

[NYBarista]

I think the ovens are great. We sell warmed sandwiches like crazy. i agree that everything in the pastry case is better warmed

[Buck Star]

The warming button may add labor, but that won't matter unless you have someone actually deployed to the warming station. The manager must schedule someone to fill the spot, otherwise it is just one more thing to slow down the line. With 2 person deployment you have to either step away from the bar or the register, which as I understand, sucks for customer service.
The chemicals used to clean the ovens tear up my hands. I use the pastry gloves and the yellow dish gloves every time, to avoid those chemicals. If the oven isn't cleaned properly it has a horrible chemical smell in the store. It is NOT an AROMA. It is a chemical vapor (Ammonia?)that needs to be ventilated. I am sure some partners health is being negatively affected from inhaling the smokey fumes. Also, I noticed that Subway uses TurboChef ovens, and I never smell that smoke, but also they have some other kind of tray system. Any one else notice this?

[Bill]

Buck Star, I have noticed exactly what you mention about Subway's use of the same oven....with a tray that makes the whole operation that less potentially messy or (worse) injurious.

Working exclusively on opening shift for the last three years, I was able to fill the Pastry Case and RTE (and a second Pastry Case that we eventually got for the drive-thru) within 30 minutes. Now because of the Food Warming, and rotating of stock in limited to non-existant space and ESPECIALLY because of the obnoxious policy of preparing and displaying breakfast sandwiches and wraps that get marked out (and to think that this happens every day in thousands of stores) instead of using plastic food... Now this task takes up to an hour and a half with our store, and the mad rush that we are hit with every morning the minute the doors open (there is an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting hall close by, and meetings begin there first thing A.M., every hour on the hour) guarantees that it will never get done until an hour after we open. There is talk of opening the store earlier, and that, with the eventual realization that any extra labor we might have gotten by pushing the WARMING button has turned out to be a wash....and now the added insult of making us run back and forth twice as much by making us steam milk in small pitchers ONLY.... well, all I can say is if there is a Mission Statement still in effect, I'm not convinced.